Friends Like These
by WhoIsAtlas
Summary: Out of all the people she's tormented there's one person that Tomie remembers the most.


**Friends Like These**

A rather aimless drabble done in preparation for a crossover fan fic I'll be writing in the future for Junji Ito's _Souichi_ and _Tomie_ series, this is a writing exercise to get a feel for Tomie's character. She's such a great villain, isn't she? I feel she's probably Ito's most terrifying creation because she's ultimately so fundamentally human in how rotten she is.

Without further ado…

 _"Sorrow found me when I was young.  
Sorrow waited, sorrow won."  
\- _The National, "Sorrow" (2010)

Tomie hates the In Between Place.

It's what she's come to call the plane of existence after whatever idiot she's decided to ensnare inevitably does her in – a long list that includes stabbing, choking, dismembering, beating with various objects, electrocution, hanging, to name a few things – before she is reborn. The In Between Place is nothing more than an inconvenience but one that Tomie isn't sure how long will last. Sometimes her regeneration takes hours; other times days, even weeks. There are no gods to judge her misdeeds. There's just the void, an endless gray mist that stretches out before her as far as she can see.

At one time Tomie had been afraid of the In Between Place. The brief respite she had been given due to her miraculous recovery from being pushed over the cliff deep in the forest had only made things worse when every eye that had leered down at her had been as cold and distant as those she fixes others with now. When she had been murdered by Takagi, Yamamoto, and every other _boy_ in class 1-B she had awoken scared and lost in the now familiar purgatory. She had cried herself hoarse unable to understand or comprehend her fate. Her mind had felt as if it were swirling endlessly, a shaken snow globe that had been unable to stop, as she had gone through varying states of consciousness before she understood that each piece of her was growing anew. Eventually, though, she had been drawn back through the membrane between the In Between Place and the world of the living. She doesn't even understand after all this time what she is exactly. A demon? A witch? A ghost? There's no one around to ask and Tomie isn't sure she cares enough to know even if there were.

What matters is that she's mastered death, conquered it in a way that no one else has. Tomie is special, just as her father had promised her from multiple lifetimes ago now, when she had been small enough to sit on his lap, the smell of sake on his breath as he read her a bedtime story, even if sometimes he never managed to finish them before passing out. The Western ones had been her favorite with their princesses waiting to be rescued by brave knights in castles. She had been ignorant then as to how _boys_ truly were but she can't completely scrub her father's soft voice or his gentle kisses goodnight to her forehead from her mind.

 _"You can have anything you want if you try hard enough, my lily."_

That had been one of the first lies ever told to her by a man.

If that had been the case, she would not have found him on the floor having drowned ingloriously in his own vomit one morning at the age of five. Nor would she have been left at the mercy of her mother, a shrill harpy of a woman, jealous of Tomie's beauty (just as all the others are, of course), who always had her brought back by the police when she tried to run away from home. Mother is another reason she can't stand the In Between Place. It leaves her alone with her memories of people and places that no longer matter, of bruises that she had to hide underneath school uniforms or black eyes that were explained away from falling down the stairs.

Yet to say she is alone isn't accurate. There are shapes within the 'fog,' twisting and turning about, faces that are so stretched in agony they barely resemble the human beings they once were. All the girls she has ever absorbed, everyone who Tomie has devoured to help regain her strength, anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with her are all here like an enormous extended family. At a time when Tomie couldn't control them they terrorized her. They had swarmed as if they were an angry nest of hornets buzzing about and howling into the nothingness that she had no right to keep them against their will. But the more souls she accumulated the softer their voices had become until at last the hellish choir had died just as they had.

All but one.

Time is frozen in the In Between Place; she can't feel its passage and there would be no way to tell even if the laws of the outside world applied here. At the very least it keeps her stroll through her personal fiefdom a leisurely one. The spirits flee from her in fear as she walks by them, dancing away from the expensive pair of couture heels her lover had bought her days before he'd run her over with his sports car in a fit of rage. It had to have been a record, Tomie is sure. They had lasted an entire six months together though she is sure his love of verbal abuse had something to do with it. They'd connected via a dating app after all. He hadn't even minded that she'd been unable to keep up appearances in her profile's photo. He'd told her that he'd been into special effects when he was younger and that it was "wicked cool" she could do makeup like that.

Gag.

When at last she comes upon the being she's sought, sitting in a 'clearing' hundreds of steps away from where Tomie arrived, it takes everything within her not to let her normally barbed tongue slip. Somewhere in the corners of Tomie's mind, or in her shriveled, blackened heart, there is an ounce of compassion that still exists for the poor figure in front of her. Stuck with the ugly bob cut (a poor decision she'd warned her against even at the time), clad in clothes that are over a quarter of a century out of date, sits her only 'friend.' Tomie lowers herself down next to her, subconsciously being careful not to crease her long and expensive blue dress her idiot had bought for her a week ago.

"Do you try to make it difficult for me to find you on purpose or…?"

Silence.

That's normally how their one-sided conversations go. Reiko Mizutani has long since given up speaking. She had always been a girl without much of a backbone and her time in the In Between Place had ground her into less than nothing. Sometimes she even sits so still that her ghastly companions all about them act more lively than she does.

"Always the same with you, Reiko. Why the cold shoulder? I'm doing you a favor, you know."

She had never intended it to be this way.

It hadn't been Tomie's fault that the one piece of her that had not reconfigured itself as fast as it should've, the heart that Reiko had dropped tearfully off of the bridge on the way home from school they'd once taken every afternoon, and had found its way out to sea and then to the town where Reiko had moved. Tomie hadn't had much control of her powers then. The hunger that had gnawed at her had been so all-consuming she had barely registered she had pounced on Reiko until she was halfway through sucking the marrow out of one of her femurs just who her victim had been.

Tomie knew she was not a good person, even before her transformation. She hadn't cared what others thought of her and saw no reason not to play with her vapid peers' thoughts and feelings. Yamamoto was nothing more than a passing curiosity as interchangeable as anyone else in their year was. Takagi had been a fling just to see if she could destroy a marriage, though admittedly the decision not to use a condom had been his idea, not hers. Her fellow students had called her so many different names behind her back that they had drowned together in a sea of white noise. Whether Tomie was called a whore at home or at school didn't matter.

"This one wasn't so bad looking this time, was he? Foreigners do tend to have bigger bank accounts…"

Foreign. That'd have been the way to describe what she had felt as she had looked away from Reiko's unseeing eyes by the tide that day. Reiko may have had awful fashion sense, a childish view of romance, and an assortment of other personality flaws that had seemed grating when they'd been in class together but it hadn't mattered in that moment. When the deed had been finished the sensation of truly having severed the last connection to her old life had hit Tomie. There would never again be phone conversations late into the night to complain about the latest test, what universities they were considering, or anything of the sort. In a way she'd died for the second time that balmy afternoon.

"…Bigger dicks too. I told you if you stick with me you'll never be disappointed."

Reiko simply stares at her feet, utterly unresponsive to her attempted camaraderie, and Tomie is more than fine with talking to the wall her companion has erected between them. It is an infinitely preferable fate than being railed against for what she has done to her. Better that than being forced on the defensive for the events of the past 30 years.

She reaches over, taking one of Reiko's small hands in hers, giving it a squeeze so gentle she surprises herself. "What about you, though? I never can tell what you like or don't like when we're out fishing together. Surely you've got a type, Reiko."

The other girl's glass eyes remain unfocused, staring out into the expanse just as they always do whenever Tomie asks her questions. This is all that's left of Reiko – a dying ember that must be tended to prevent it from being snuffed out. Tomie stretches out her legs, leaning comfortably against Reiko's shoulder.

"I'll get the answer out of you sooner or later. We've got all the time in the world here."

She hadn't cared at first whether or not Reiko would suffer when she first returned. She had been so consumed with hatred at the fact her so-called friend had not fought harder for her, to tell her classmates off for _murder_. Instead Reiko had done what she always did: clammed up at the first sign of trouble and tossed her heart away as if it were yesterday's garbage. It was only her attempt at going to the police in the end that Tomie had decided to spare her mind from being broken at all.

"I have to admit I'm getting tired of foie gras and caviar… it might be easier just to find a chef. It is fun watching some of them when the check comes, though."

Reiko stiffens at the contact between them, her back ramrod straight, and while she has no need to breathe Tomie can feel her diaphragm shuddering against her. She never fights or crawls away; Reiko is nothing but a broken-in horse at the stable now. It doesn't offend Tomie either. She's used to those around her recoiling in horror when they get a glimpse underneath her carefully maintained façade.

"Something wrong, Reiko? You know I don't bite much."

Tomie can't help herself. The joke tumbles from her mouth before she can stop them and Reiko takes the opportunity to press her forehead against her knees. Despite not talking Tomie is sure that prayers are being mentally sent to anyone that will listen to free her. A curious mixture of contempt and regret settles in her. She doesn't need to allow the link between them, their souls becoming one when she chooses, to let her breathe fresh air with her lungs, to taste the foods and drink that she consumes, or allow her to experience whatever lay she has found. Then again perhaps expecting gratitude from finding a man desperate or pathetic enough to withstand her and then allowing him to have his way every so often to keep him strung along might not be something in her favor. She usually finds a knife entering her gut a more satisfying experience than being under a sweating pig whose idea of 'passion' is generally limited to a few minutes of grunting before emptying his seed inside her without even the minor courtesy of pulling out.

But Reiko does not experience the trauma of dying again and again. If Tomie wanted she could let the girl's mind embrace the cool nothingness of the In Between Place every time the inevitable occurs. It is the quirk to her dark magic – to have her fate be replayed ad nauseam by those around her – that she protects her friend from. Once was enough for Reiko.

"I shouldn't have said that."

Tomie finds she means it too.

"I'm just an awful tease. That's what you told me when we were younger. Guess I never did grow out of that, did I?"

It's not quite an apology but Tomie knows that this minor peace offering will suffice. There's nothing she could say or do to make the situation worse than it already is. She pulls away from Reiko's side, hands on her knees as she stares out into the In Between Place, watching her slaves drift in their eternal torment. She wishes she knew why she's gone to such lengths for Reiko, why it matters so much that she keeps a token reminder of the girl she'd once been around. Even back then Reiko was someone who only made her look more gorgeous by comparison – the girl next door versus a _woman_. There is no need of that now. All she has to do is so much as look at a man and he will follow her to the ends of the earth.

"We're all rotten deep down. I'm…"

She's what exactly?

"…Glad you're not like that."

Her eyes roam over Reiko. The schoolgirl's features have frozen in time just as much as hers have, whether crystallized by Tomie's own willpower in the In Between Place or if this is a side effect of dying itself she doesn't know. That damned jumble of emotions washes over her again as they both sit now in the uneasy quiet that fills the air between them.

"Tomie…"

There are very few things that can surprise Tomie. Any eventuality is one that she has either experienced or tried to prepare for. But in all the years that have passed since that day on the mountain there has never been a word between them; all she has gotten in return for her efforts at keeping Reiko 'alive' has been her refusal to flee from her presence, probably more out of terror than loyalty. But this is fresh, almost exciting in how unexpected it is. Reiko's head lifts itself up and the gaze she is fixed with is hard enough to cut through a diamond.

"Yes?"

"…You're wrong. You're not a tease at all."

Tomie can feel her one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows raise ever so slightly at that remark. She is never wrong; her ability to read others and stomp their dreams into the dirt is what she prides herself on the most. There is no good in her, if there ever was any to begin with, and even assuming there had been at all is self-pitying charity. Surely there is no way that Reiko after all this time forgives her for what she's done.

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"You're a monster."

Oh.

 _Oh_.

This will not stand.

Memories of her mother threaten to wash over, an angry, spiteful hag who couldn't stand the thought of her own daughter not being as miserable as she is, punching and kicking whatever part of Tomie is not tucked into her fetal position in whatever room she has found her in. Nor does she care to remember the growing pain of finding out that she will never be able to have a picture taken for fear of revealing what she's become. Almost involuntarily, she reaches over and grips a handful of Reiko's hair, forcing her friend face to face with her.

"Reiko, I think you and I both know that you're better than that. Words hurt – especially when friends turn against on one another. All those special memories together can become painful if used against one another."

Reiko's bravado seems to fizzle out in just as much time as it emerged. She barely struggles against Tomie's grip on her pixie cut. Why did Reiko find it necessary to make things so ugly? After all that Tomie has done for her, her nerve astounds her.

"I think that you owe me an apology."

The spark of rebellion isn't quite put out as Tomie's little flame looks at her again as a small smile graces her features. Her eyes leave her shoes and glance out towards the purgatory that surrounds them before she shrugs.

"You owe everyone here one first."

If there is one thing that Tomie hates it's rebellion. Every man who has ever been able to resist her charms, every girl who couldn't put two and two together to get out of her way, they're all as tedious as the last. She offers them nothing but her presence, something alone that should suffice, but this is a slap in the face on an entirely different level than what she's used to dealing with.

No matter.

If mother taught her anything it's that if a message is drilled home enough it'll stick.

"Apologize?" Tomie tilts her head in amusement. "I don't really think I'd have to. After all they made their own beds to lie in and they understand their mistakes. They've atoned for what they've done."

Releasing a hand from the side of Reiko's face Tomie snaps her free hand's fingers. All at once the world around them changes. Dozens of the phantasms that haunt this realm begin to swirl about them, faster and faster, as they shriek and moan in despair. They've long ago lost their individuality; the only way she could identify them now would be to focus on their tormented faces (not that she cares to). Gripping the side of Reiko's face once more Tomie watches as Reiko's eyes dart wildly about them, unable to press her hands against her ears to make the voices stop, unable to prevent the dizzying whirlwind of her fellow prisoners from giving her vertigo.

"I sacrifice so much for you, Reiko. All those dates with _men_ , every weak compliment, every kiss with awful breath, every passionless evening… I've tried so hard to find someone you'll enjoy. Yet you're still ungrateful."

Reiko only whimpers in response and Tomie is sure she is regretting ever standing up for herself now more than ever.

"What more is there I can do? We're friends 'till the end, aren't we? I remember you telling me that when we were younger."

Reiko's jaw is working back and forth, almost as if she is about to cry, but Tomie knows just how little tears mean. She's done it on more than one occasion herself to get out of a situation that looks bad enough. Tomie is sure that Reiko hasn't forgiven her yet, isn't truly sorry. It's just another trick to get her to stop her assault.

"Even when we were in school I'd try to find someone who could stand you like I could. You rebuffed them all. 'I'm waiting for university to get serious,' wasn't it? I believed you then; you didn't have many social skills. The more I think about it, however, the more it sounds like… an excuse."

Tomie truly is the worst. She can't help herself. Her mind now runs with every possible thing she can do to make the situation as cruel as possible for her friend. She'll pay for finally speaking up with nothing but a slap in Tomie's own gorgeous, perfect face.

"Was it because you didn't think you could keep them around for long? Scared that you'd look like a complete amateur next to me? Or maybe something else…?"

Releasing Reiko's head at last, Tomie plants a finger on her chin, rhythmically tapping it as she 'ponders' in thought. She's decided already how this will end between them. Tomie loves nothing more than to push boundaries after all.

"Perhaps you actually weren't interested in all those _boys_ I tried to bring around. That would've been embarrassing, after all, to admit that they just didn't cut it for you. Really, I think that maybe it was me who you had a crush on."

It is in that moment that Tomie can begin to feel some part of herself beginning to drift away, as if her mind is beginning to shatter into a dozen different pieces. She will be leaving the In Between Place soon; she'll have to keep this little charade shorter than she'd like.

"I wouldn't blame you, of course. Being around me for so long, it'd only be natural that envy turned into something else, especially if you thought you could use your friendship to leverage it."

Reiko's eyes are confused, scared, and Tomie takes a moment to revel in the liveliness she sees in them. This is what she's been missing all this time – a companion that she can call on in her thrall who will never hurt her.

"N-no, that's not– I never–!"

She has practically forgotten about the countless spirits spiraling about them. Her attention is on nothing now but Tomie herself.

As it should be.

"Shh…" Tomie whispers gently, bringing a finger to Reiko's lips. "It's okay. You don't have to hide it, Reiko."

The pull towards the world of the living is stronger now, insistent even. With her free hand Tomie snaps her fingers once more and all at once the souls she's collected scatter to the non-existent wind. It is just her now and Reiko, sitting across from one another, in the gloom.

"You don't have to forgive me. I forgive **you**."

She leans forward, inching slowly toward her target, as she places a chaste kiss on the other girl. She can feel Reiko sputter, choking and spitting as the other girl violently pulls herself away from her, spastically scrambling backwards.

"W-what the hell was that?!"

Tomie rolls her eyes, barely even containing the urge to break out laughing at the overreaction. Perhaps she will do this more often, both with Reiko and without. _Men_ are awful but women are a riot to watch squirm.

"A kiss."

"Why would you ever think–"

"You're a bad liar, Reiko. You always have been."

She doesn't particularly care if her poking is anywhere near the mark. But Tomie has found something at last that gives Reiko life, animation, and if it means she has to do it again…there are worse fates Tomie can think of that she's sure Reiko would beg her not to unleash.

Reiko says nothing, her eyes flashing and angry, as she hunkers down once more into her resting position. With this Tomie knows she has won for now. She has tended to her little spark for so long that she's managed at last to make it into a small fire. The only thing left to do now is to keep adding more kindling to its blaze.

As she leaves the In Between Place behind, her mind drifting back across the void she gives one last glance to the small, shaking girl near her. For a moment the anger she felt earlier dissipates and in its place is something Tomie can't identify. It is a strange, murky thing that she's never experienced, as confusing as what she'd felt on her initial search for Reiko. Tomie doesn't dwell on it – self introspection is not something that matters – but at last she settles on 'longing' to describe it. Perhaps Reiko will forgive her someday.

Perhaps Tomie will learn to not be selfish.


End file.
